When Lightning Strikes
by BeyondTheClouds777
Summary: "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" "Sure...ahh, that's a strong word. It's really more of a...hunch." Astrid's thoughts during the ending of episode thirteen of Riders of Berk, "When Lightning Strikes."


**Out-of-no-where idea that came to me while writing "Blind Sight." That story will get more updates tomorrow, don't worry. :) This is a one-shot, and there will not be more to it. The story speaks for itself. Enjoy! :D Astrid's POV. **

"We can hide Toothless in the cove for now," I offered, trying to be helpful, considering the situation. Hiccup and Toothless stood in front of me, looking terrified, yet at the same time, determined.

"They'll just find him," said Hiccup. "No. We have to leave."

I took a small step back, considering what he had just said. "We?" I repeated breathlessly and in shock.

"He can't make it on his own," said Hiccup, looking at his beloved Night Fury, "and I wouldn't want him to. I'm going with him, Astrid."

I stared at him for a moment. Hiccup? Leaving? No, he couldn't leave. "But you'll come back...right?" I asked.

"Yeah," said Hiccup, rubbing the back of his neck, "eventually. When they all realize this didn't happen because of Toothless."

I heard shouts of villagers; they were coming close. As much as I didn't want to admit it, Hiccup and Toothless had to leave. "You better go," I pretty much whispered. Hiccup nodded, jumped on his dragon, and then took to the sky. I watched them for a few moments, until I turned around, finding myself face to face with Mildew, along with other angry villagers.

"Where's the boy!?" Mildew demanded. "And more importantly, where's the dragon!?"

"I don't know, Mildew," I said flatly, "but you got your wish. Hiccup and Toothless are _gone_."

"Oh, bah!" said Mildew. He didn't believe a word of it, and it was truly obvious. He turned around to his following, and shouted to them. "Find the Night Fury!" he said. "All of you!"

The villagers shouted their agreements and raced towards Raven Point.

"Please," I whispered to no one in particular. "Please, be safe, Hiccup."

It wasn't ten minutes later that Mildew and the villagers returned, pushing a cart. I gasped at the sight of it. Tied and muzzled, growling, being forced against his will, was Toothless.

"Toothless," I gasped. If Toothless was here, then so was Hiccup. But did Hiccup know? I didn't know what had happened, but I wanted to find out. So, I ran, looking for the rider of the Night Fury.

On my way, I bumped into Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Fishlegs, who quickly joined me in my search. A few minutes later, we found Hiccup in the armory.

"Hiccup!" I shouted, gasping for breath as the other riders and I barged inside. Hiccup turned to look at us, also breathing heavily. "They've got Toothless!" I said. "They're about to float him off to sea!"

"I know," said Hiccup. "Why do you think I have this?" He held up a metal trident, and I gasped. It was bigger than he was, yet he held it in a diagonal position with both his fists clenched tight around the metal with confidence in his face.

"Ooh, tough one," said Tuffnut, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "How many guesses do we get? Five?"

"Ooo...kay," said Hiccup, his voice barely audible as it dropped dramatically. He grabbed my wrist, holding the trident in his left hand, and then spoke; "Astrid, fly me to the docks."

I didn't know what he was planning, but I trusted him. We both mounted Stormfly, and then headed in that direction.

I gasped. Mildew and lots of other angry villagers were facing Stoick, Gobber, Mulch and Bucket, who were standing in between the angry mob, and the boat with Toothless - still tied and muzzled - on it. And the worst part was, Mildew's following looked ready to attack Stoick's.

"STOP!" Hiccup shouted just as they advanced. Stormfly swooped low as Hiccup yelled, coming in between the two sides to stop their fighting. Hiccup jumped off Stormfly's back and raced forward, trident still in one hand, the other one being held out to the villagers in a clear "stop" motion.

"STOP!" he shouted again. "You can get rid of Toothless-" Hiccup paced back and forth as he spoke, never breaking eye contact with the different villagers, "-you can..._throw _him, off the edge of the world, but it's not going to stop this lightning, from destroying Berk!"

The villagers mumbled to each other, speaking in hushed tones, before they looked back to Hiccup for an answer.

"It's the metal!" Hiccup shouted, holding the trident over his head. Lightning sounded behind him, and he visibly winced, yet held his ground all the same. "The lightning...is hitting the _metal!" _

The villagers gasped, and then whispered to each other, speaking of how insane and wrong Hiccup was.

"Just...think about it!" Hiccup pleaded as the villagers broke out into shouts, looking ready to attack once again. "We _never _had a storm like this, until we put up those perches!" He gestured to the metal poles wildly. "That statue!" He pointed to the metal statue we built just earlier that day. "Right…?" said Hiccup, looking for villagers who were catching on. "And they're all...made..of metal!"

"Oh, bah!" said Mildew, stepping forward to try and talk sense back into the villagers who had sided with him. For the near seventh time that day, I wanted to strangle that old man. He glared at Hiccup. "Have you _ever _heard of anything so insane!?" he practically shouted.

Hiccup merely glared back at him, and then ran, pushing his way past Stoick, until he jumped onto the same boat Toothless was on.

"Y-you see?" Hiccup stuttered, setting the trident down momentarily to show the villager's Toothless' busted tail fin. Wow, it was busted, and it was busted _bad_. I had wondered how the villagers had trapped Toothless in the first place, and now I was getting my answer.

"This is where the lightning struck Toothless," said Hiccup. "On this...connecting rod. This..._metal_, connecting rod!"

The villagers mumbled and shook their heads. None of them believed Hiccup, and I knew it without even hardly thinking about it.

"Look…" Hiccup looked desperate now, "if-if you don't believe me, I can prove it!"

_Prove it? Prove it how?_ I wondered.

He picked up the trident once more, and then ran up to me, holding out his free hand expectantly. Without missing a beat, I grabbed his hand and yanked him on Stormfly's back, waiting for his instructions.

"Fly me up," he said without a second thought. I nodded and rode Stormfly upwards until we were level with the mast of the ship. Hiccup jumped off, landing on the mast with perfect balance.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" I asked, because I was worried.

"Sure?" said Hiccup, sounding cheerful at first, until his voice caught in his throat, and died down dramatically. "Ahh, that's a strong word," he said. "It's really more of a..._hunch_."

I looked at him with concern.

"I-I'll be fine," he assured, and smiled just faintly. "Go."

I listened to him, heading back down on Stormfly, landing the dragon on the deck. I leaped off her back and looked up at Hiccup, holding my breath as I waited to see what would happen.

"Oooh boy," Gobber groaned from a few feet away. "Here he goes again."

"He doesn't make it easy," said Stoick, shaking his head. Then, he called out to his son, obviously aiming to talk some sense into him. "Hiccup!"

"You'll all see for yourselves!" shouted Hiccup down to the crowd, but there was something different about his voice. It was shaky, utterly absent of any confidence it had previously stored.

_More of a hunch… _His words came back to me. What had he meant by-

"When I attach this _metal_-" Hiccup made sure he stressed that one word, "rod to the top of this mast…" Lightning crashed behind him dramatically, only adding to my worry, "the lightning will be drawn to-"

He never got to finish his sentence. His theory proved true before he fully even made his point; a large, white-hot lightning bolt shot from the sky, hitting the trident, sending impressive blue tendrils of electric fire down it.

The only problem?

Hiccup was still holding onto the rod when it happened.

"HICCUP!" I screamed just about the same time as Stoick did. I froze where I stood. I couldn't breathe. I remained still where I stood as Hiccup fell, unconscious, into the water below. I remained still as Toothless broke free from his bonds, jumping into the icy water to save his rider. I remained breathless while Stoick and Gobber raced over to the docks. I remained shocked as Toothless pulled Hiccup's limp form out of the water. I remained terrified as I feared for the worst to come.

I shook myself out of my trance-like state as I pushed myself forward. I just barely caught the slow, steady rise and fall of Hiccup's chest before Gobber and Stoick, along with a few other villagers, gathered around him.

So Hiccup was alive.

And I was going to _so_ kill him when he woke up for scaring me half to death.

…

He woke up the next day.

I had stayed at his bedside for a little while, until Stoick convinced me to go and get some rest, which I did. And then Stormfly was restless, so I took her for a ride, and was just taking off her saddle, ready to go check on Hiccup again, when he walked up to me with a shout of, "Astrid!"

The minute he approached me, I had dropped what I was doing instantly, racing over and throwing my arms around him so hard it nearly sent him crashing down the hill behind him. I had been so scared when I watched him be hit by that lightning bolt, that having him standing right in front of me, alive, made me want to scream and shout with joy.

After about three seconds, I pulled away, grabbed his arm, and judo-flipped him. He yelped, the wind getting knocked out of him instantly, and then squinted up at me.

"See here, Hiccup Haddock," I said, still holding onto his arm tightly, "if you _ever _scare me like that again, so help me, I will-"

He cut me off when he started laughing. Laughing? Wait a minute. He wasn't supposed to be laughing!

"So I take it you were worried, then?" he asked.

"Um...YEAH!" I shouted, yanking him back to his feet (or, that is to say, foot). "You nearly gave me a heartattack!"

"Um, yeah, I tend to do that sometimes," said Hiccup, running a hand through his hair. "Sorry."

"Don't be," I said. "Just...no more lightning rod. Got it?"

"Got it," said Hiccup.

"So...do you feel okay?" I asked.

"Oddly enough, yes," said Hiccup. "I mean, I got a bad headache, but really, what do you expect? I took a lightning bolt to the head yesterday, according to my Dad."

"Ruffnut and Tuffnut were impressed," I said, remembering an earlier conversation with the twins. "I mean, they were _really _impressed, going on about how lucky you were-"

"Sounds like the twins," said Hiccup simply. "Crazy and idiotic as ever."

"You could say that again," I said. "And you know what?"

"What?" he said.

"You don't always have to be the hero," I said.

"What do you mean?" Hiccup asked.

"I mean, always risking your life, from the battle with the Red Death, and then to yesterday," I replied. "You're going to end up dead."

Hiccup laughed. "Well, I wouldn't plan on it," he said. "My Dad wants us to take that statue to one of the higher points on the island, just so it doesn't cause any more problems."

I grinned. I knew _exactly _where we would put that statue. Mildew's house…

"I just have one question," said Hiccup.

"Hmm?" I said.

"When the lightning hit me," said Hiccup, cracking a smile, "were you at all…"

"Don't do it," I said.

"..._shocked?"_ Hiccup finished anyway.

And so naturally, I did the first thing that came to mind.

I pulled my hand back, and slapped him in the face.

**Author's Note: **

**Okay, so I really loved the episode "When Lightning Strikes" for two reasons and two reasons only: One: We got to see how strong Hiccup and Toothless' bond really was, even to the point where Hiccup was willing to leave his home, friends, family, and island just to make sure his best friend was safe. And then how Toothless broke out of his bonds - something that probably hurt a bit - to save Hiccup from drowning. **

**Two: We got to see some of Astrid's caring traits. The way she looked at Hiccup when she was asking him if everything was going to be alright, and then her face when he told her it was a "hunch." Facial expressions mean so much to characters, and How To Train Your Dragon nailed them all.**

**I really didn't like the episode at first, because it was really rather strange in the beginning, but then in the middle and ending, when it really played out, I ended up liking it after all. :) **

**-BeyondTheClouds777**


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